The present disclosure relates generally to the field of antenna systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates generally to the field of antenna arrays including but not limited to, phased array antenna systems or electronically scanned array (ESA) antenna systems, such as active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna systems.
Antenna arrays, such as, printed circuit board (PCB) and printed wiring board (PWB) based apertures (e.g., low profile PCB based AESA radiation apertures), have a limited size due to printed circuit board material fabrication tools, printed circuit board etching/lamination processes, and assembly processes and equipment for attaching electronic components to the printed circuit board. PCBs, as well as PWBs, used in low-profile antennas can become warped due to the required constructions and construction techniques. Minimizing absolute multi-layer printed circuit board warping and maximizing printed circuit board manufacturing yield requires the use of apertures sized within the range appropriate to the capitalization and processes of both the PWB manufacturer and the Printed Circuit Assembly (PCA) facility. Further, random and deterministic excitation errors across the aperture of conventional antennas increase with panel size (e.g., circuit board size). It is desirable to provide larger aperture antennas.
Thus, there is a need for a printed circuit board antenna system with a larger aperture. Further, there is a need for a robust, large aperture AESA-based or other array-based system with low absolute warping. Yet further, there is a need for high yield, high reliability process for manufacturing a large printed circuit board antenna array. Even further, there is a need for a low cost manufacturing process for large antenna arrays.